005 - Spiegal im Spiegal

[fistfullofmagic]

[Anyone up late tonight might be surprised to find a rather philosophical question written in their journal in neat, rather elegant script.]

Perhaps this world is not simply another dimension that we are drawn into at the whim of Cair Paradisa. Perhaps we are not as alive as we believe, and we are simply memories of people who once were, tested time and again to see who we truly are. Perhaps it is a cycle that repeats until it strips us of all that we were, allowing us to finally be born anew...

Comments

[legacydeck]

An interesting theory - do you have any evidence for it?

[fistfullofmagic]

Nothing concrete. Simply knowledge that has been passed down from a... particularly accurate source. There have been millions of instances of souls being preserved in the forms of crystals - my own people exist as a product of a past organization manufacturing these from those still living.

The presence of historical figures may cause some to dismiss my hypothesis, but most believe time to be far more linear than I know it to be.

[legacydeck]

Hmm. More than one religion in my world has such concepts - both of rebirth of souls as new people, and of intermediate states between death and rebirth. I suspect I think of time as a slightly more fixed entity than you do - but it has given me some evidence that these beliefs are more than faith alone.

And while the material world may be constrained in time, I think most would argue that the bardo is not.

filtered

[fistfullofmagic]

It is true that most will never see time as I do, for they have not seen the ever raging storm. It is... difficult to explain.

It is also true that those still wholly attached to the material world could never hope to overcome time unaided by something that is not.

filtered

[legacydeck]

You claim to be from outside of time and the material universe, then?

filtered

[fistfullofmagic]

No. I simply possess the ability to traverse time and space in a different manner than others. Most require a machine or artifact to do the same. I have need of nothing more than my own power.

filtered

[legacydeck]

An impressive talent - I can view both past and future, to a degree - but it's not the same as truly being there.

filtered

[fistfullofmagic]

It is not one I alone possess; theoretically, any large enough gathering of mages could send a single mage through time with enough reserve energy to return. ...In practice, it is a measure only for the most dire of emergencies.

filtered

[legacydeck]

I can certainly imagine the technical feasibility - the possibilities for it going horribly awry are endless, though.

filtered

[fistfullofmagic]

Most immediately, the concern is that the caster or casters have a very high probability of sacrificing their own lives to fuel the spell. Perhaps it is different for magic users who gain their power from a different source, but for those who share the same blood as I, the source of magic and the source of life are one in the same.

filtered

[legacydeck]

In my world, while it is possible to draw on other sources of magic, one's power ultimately comes from inside oneself, so yes, I'd imagine that'd be one of the greatest risks. That, and running out of energy partway through.

[gottaknockhard]

[... That actually makes some sense.]

Cheery thought.

[fistfullofmagic]

Whether I am correct or otherwise, it will hardly matter at the end.

[Such cheerful thoughts he has when alone at night.]

[gottaknockhard]

That's something to look forward to.

[fistfullofmagic]

The end of your stay, or the day you are no longer yourself?

[gottaknockhard]

[Hm. He gives it some thought before responding.]

Make that two things.

[fistfullofmagic]

[Silence for a moment.]

...May your wishes pan out in a more ideal manner than most do.

[gottaknockhard]

And I thought they specialized in ideal here.

[fistfullofmagic]

[Silence again, this time because he's trying to figure out whether the other man is being sarcastic or not.]

[gottaknockhard]

[He kind of picks up that he's making him uncomfortable, so he gives him a break.]

It was a joke.

[fistfullofmagic]

...Ah.

[Nothing like not getting the humor in a joke to make a conversation a bit awkward.]

[gottaknockhard]

It gets funnier the longer you're here.

[fistfullofmagic]

I see.

[20thcentury]

Works for those of us who are dead.

But how to do you reconcile the people who fall asleep for a bit and then wake up older? Is it just their "memory selves" updating or something?

[fistfullofmagic]

In a sense. I do not think that if I am correct that it functions on quite as linear a basis as most beings perceive time.

[20thcentury]

Well, yeah, that makes sense. What with the number of children losses people go on ...

[fistfullofmagic]

Indeed. It would account for why our basic shape and aspects of our personalities are so malleable in this place.

[20thcentury]

It's a bit creepy when you think about it that way. That we're actually being altered ...

[fistfullofmagic]

Quite. Many may wish themselves altered in some way, but when the choice is taken out of our hands...

[20thcentury]

Then it becomes a weapon used against us.

[fistfullofmagic]

Precisely.

[20thcentury]

[She sighs.] Well, there's your holiday cheer, I suppose.

[fistfullofmagic]

...I suppose. It has been centuries since I have had reason to celebrate any sort of holiday.

[Or at all, for that matter.]

[20thcentury]

Is that right? How old are you, then?

[fistfullofmagic]

I am uncertain. I may be well into my fourth or perhaps even my early fifth century.

[20thcentury]

I feel like a baby compared to you, then. I'm only one hundred, me.

[makethemguilty]

[Manfred found himself intrigued by this...'theory', indeed, and the question of the first correspondent proved to be one he'd been asking since his arrival.]

...

That is indeed a question I would like to know myself. Why is it that there is a convenient lack of evidence to any theories claimed here in this forsaken place!

[fistfullofmagic]

I assume that is the doing of our so-called benefactor.

[makethemguilty]

And this supposed benefactor you refer to? You mean "Cair Paradisa", do you not?

[fistfullofmagic]

I do, although I suppose "captor" would be a more appropriate term, would it not?

[makethemguilty]

Indeed, I daresay it would.